Day I kopped it at Anfield hurt most

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Then, out swaggered Serena to take on the tournament’s fairytale story in Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, the 34-year-old who first played in 1997 but who disappeared off the game’s radar for close on a decade to deal with the trauma of an abusive father.

A day earlier, the Croatian had come through a marathon three-setter with Karolina Pliskova, which had left her an emotional and physical wreck.

So no wonder, when it came to the crunch, she was no match for maybe the greatest female player of all time.

PA:Press Association

Venus and Serena Williams won the ladies doubles at Wimbledon last summer

Serena needed just 50 minutes to waft her aside 6-2 6-1 and set up her perfect date.

The 22-time Grand Slam champ said: “I couldn’t be happier at the results. For us both to be in the final is the biggest dream come true for us.

“She’s my toughest opponent. No one has ever beaten me as much as Venus has.